Rome (BLAZETRENDS).- The Ukrainian president, Volodomir Zelenski, has arrived in Rome, where he will meet today with Pope Francis, as well as his Italian counterpart, Sergio Matarella, and the Italian Prime Minister, Giogia Meloni.
Zelenski arrived at Ciampino airport, where he was received by the Foreign Minister and Vice President of the Government, Antonio Tajani, and from there he went to a central hotel before starting his busy schedule in the Italian capital, which has been shielded for his visit. .
The security forces have maximized security measures with a thousand agents deployed, a no-fly zone and several sniper teams located in the areas where Zelenski will pass, in some of which Ukrainian refugees have gathered to greet their president.
The president will begin his meetings at the Quirinale Palace, seat of the Presidency of the Republic, where he will meet with Mattarella, while later he will go to the Chigi Palace to meet with Meloni, where Tajani will also be present.
“Italy receives the President of Ukraine, Volodomir Zelensky. We renew our commitment together with the Ukrainian people, in defense of freedom and democracy, ”the Foreign Minister tweeted with a photo of both of them after his arrival in Rome.
Finally, the Ukrainian president will go to the Vatican to be received by Pope Francis in a meeting that the Holy See considers to be private, which may further limit the already scant information about it.
The meeting takes place in the midst of the Vatican peace mission for Ukraine announced by the pontiff on the return flight from his recent trip to Hungary and of which the details are not yet known, although a Vatican source has told Russian media that the meeting “is not directly related” to her and that Zelensky requested the meeting with Francisco “just a few days ago.”
It will be the first between the two since the war began, although they already know each other because Francis received Zelensky in audience on February 8, 2020 and already on that occasion they talked about “the humanitarian situation and the search for peace” in the context “of the conflict that, since 2014, continues to plague Ukraine.
Armored Rome for Zelensky’s visit
The forces of order have maximized the security measures in Rome today for the visit of the Ukrainian president, Volodomir Zelenski, who this morning will meet with his Italian counterpart, Sergio Matarella, on a trip in which he is also scheduled to meet with Pope Francis and the Italian Prime Minister, Giogia Meloni.
The Italian capital is armored, with a thousand agents deployed, a no-fly zone and several sniper teams located in the areas where Zelenski will pass, for security reasons, although he is expected to begin his meetings with Mattarella and Meloni, and the meeting with Pope Francis takes place in the afternoon.
The impressive security device, which includes tight controls at the capital’s train stations and airports, has anti-terrorist units, sniffer dogs and anti-bomb squads, “and underground controls will also be carried out, with inspections of the sewage networks”, according to the police headquarters.